Women's Basketball Bolsters Staff with Wanika Owsley, Stacy Stephens
5/17/2024 2:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The pair brings a plethora of playing and coaching experience to the Kansas City sidelines
KANSAS CITY - Kansas City Women's Basketball has added two coaches to staff, welcoming Associate Head Coach Wanika Owsley and Assistant Coach Stacy Stephens to the city, effective immediately.
WANIKA OWSLEY
Wanika Owsley comes to Kansas City as an Associate Head Coach with over 15 years of coaching experience. Owsley and Head Coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett have made many stops in the same places: Owsley played at Southeast Missouri State from 2003-06, Jackson-Durrett coached there from 2010-13. The pair both held a coaching roles at Mississippi State, Owsley from 2010-12, Jackson-Durrett from 2015-20.
"I have decided to work at Kansas City because of the good people and shared vision that I encountered during the interview process," Owsley said. "The dedication and expertise demonstrated by staff, coupled with the university's commitment to excellence in education align closely with my own values."
Owsley joins Kansas City's staff after spending last season as the Director of Men's Basketball Operations at Morgan State University. She helped aid the Bears as they claimed an .500-or-better record in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play for the fifth-straight year.
That marked her third time at Morgan State - the first came as an assistant coach for the women's team in 2009-10, the second as an assistant/associate head coach for the women's team from 2012-21.
During the 2021-22 season, Owsley was an Associate Head Coach at Detroit Mercy. Prior to that, she made the longest stop of her career thus far, a nine-year stint at Morgan State.
With Morgan State, Owsley was responsible for recruiting, managing the budget, scouting, on-court instruction, player development and game and practice preparation, among many other duties.
Owsley helped the Bears to a 12-4 mark in the shortened 2020-21 season, including an 8-2 record in MEAC play. She was part of a staff that helped Morgan State to double-digit wins in six-of-seven seasons, including winning campaigns in three-of-four. Morgan State earned tournament wins and reached the MEAC semifinals in two-straight years, their first tournament semifinals appearances since 2006-07.
Owsley also spent two seasons on the women's basketball staff at Mississippi State from 2010-12, helping sign two top-50 recruiting classes during her time at MSU, including six ESPN Top-100 student-athlete recruits. She assisted in coaching the Bulldogs to 28 victories across those two seasons.
She began her coaching career at Jefferson (Mo.) Community College from 2006-09, helping coach the program to a national title game and runner-up finish at the 2008Â NJCAAÂ Tournament, as well as a third-place finish in the national tournament in 2007.
While at Jefferson, Owsley was part of a staff that coached the program to a 97-9 record across three seasons and winning three MCCAC Championships (regular season and tournament). She also coached and recruited the 2008-09 National Junior College Player of the Year in Danielle Adams and coached four All-Americans and six Academic All-Americans, as well as two NJCAA Academic Teams of the Year.
Owsley played collegiately at both Southeastern Illinois (Junior) College and Southeast Missouri State. While with Southeastern Illinois, she helped lead her team to its first Region 24 championship and an appearance in the NJCAA National Tournament.
She concluded her career at Southeast Missouri State, where she helped the Redhawks to a 46-16 overall record and their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance during her senior season. She was the captain and led both teams in assists.
Owsley earned general studies degree from Southeast Missouri State University.
STACY STEPHENS
Stacy Stephens joins the Kansas City staff as an assistant coach, where she will be charged with assisting Head Coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett, specifically with post development. Stephens and Jackson-Durrett are no strangers - Stephens played at Texas from 2000-04, while Jackson-Durrett played at rival Oklahoma from 2001-05.
"I'm excited to be a part of the vision and excitement that Coach Jackson-Durrett has for the program and the opportunity to work with, and help mentor, the student-athletes as they chase their goals academically and athletically," Stephens said.
Stephens brings a plethora of coaching and playing experience to the sidelines, including spending the past four seasons as the head coach at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas. During her first full season as head coach, Stephens tied the Schreiner University school record for conference wins (since going NCAA D3) with 10 wins in the 2021-2022 season and then broke the record with 12 wins in the 2022-2023 season, while also making it to the semi-final game of the SCAC conference tournament in the same season. During her time at Schreiner, the women's basketball team maintained above a 3.0 GPA and had players win multiple all-conference awards, including the SCAC Elite 19 Award winner Josline Hernandez (2022-23). Stephens achieved her 50th win as a head coach during the 2022-2023 season while winning over 60% of her games.
Throughout her head coaching career, Stephens has won one Conference Championship, has three Conference tournament appearances, over 40 conference wins and coached two All-Americans, 14 All-Conference players and won Red River Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2019-2020.
After a stint as assistant coach, Stephens took over as the head coach at Our Lady of the Lake for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, posting a 28-10 record overall.
As an assistant coach, Stephens was part of the best season in Our Lady of the Lake University women's basketball history that culminated in a NAIA Fab Four appearance. She spent time at Sam Houston State, making a run to the Southland Conference Tournament championship game, where post player Angela Beadle was named Southland Conference Tournament MVP. She also spent time as a special assistant at Texas, where she was a part of a coaching staff that put together a nationally ranked recruiting class.
Stephens was drafted 37th overall in the 2004 WNBA draft by the Houston Comets and played professionally in Turkey, Sweden, and Portugal from 2004-07. Stephens played at Texas from 2000-04 and helped the Longhorns win the 2003 and 2004 Big XII Championships, the 2003 Big XII Tournament Championship and competed in the 2003 Final Four. She finished her collegiate playing career with 1,708 points and 1,223 rebounds. She stands as the second-leading rebounder in program history and was the third-ever player to grab 1,000-plus points and 1,000-plus rebounds in a Longhorns jersey. She was inducted to the Texas Hall of Honor in 2017.
Stephens also had a stellar high school career at Winnsboro High School, winning two Texas 3A State Championships and a Texas 3A State Runner-Up. Stephens finished her high school playing career with 2,765 points, 2,215 rebounds and 802 blocks, earning an induction into the TABC Texas High School Hall of Fame in 2021.
Stephens has a MA in Higher Education Administration from Sam Houston State in 2019 and has a BS in Applied Learning and Development from Texas in 2004.
